Snippet 2003

If you were able to time-travel back to 2003 and attend a service, you might almost think you were in the wrong place! On entry, the interior would have felt much darker, the floor was covered in red linoleum and there was a blue carpet up the central aisle! Looking up the ceiling was covered in white acoustic tile. The only seating was pews in a dark wood.

The Cathedral was planning a major renovation, and we knew we had to make some changes to all of the above. There was much discussion about what would work and what we could actually afford.

Discussions about pews versus chairs were lively and a compromise was arrived at to keep some of the pews but have the flexibility of moveable chairs in most of the nave. This decision has served us well. Pews or pieces of pews are gracing many homes. Can you imagine the delight of everyone when the beautiful Douglas Fir on the floor and the ceiling was revealed when renovations began? Just astonishment that at some time in the past there had been a decision to cover these up.

This lovely wood has brought warmth and a lightness to our building interior. Our task with this wonderful inheritance is to look after it.